Sourpatch - Crushin'

I was worried when I got the record out of the sleeve. The vinyl seemed a little warped. Well actually it seemed alarmingly warped. Everything was okay when I got it on the turntable, though. It plays fiiiiiiiiine..

The vinyl version of this album comes with a download code thingy for you youngsters and technophiles. The cover isn't in full colour -the CD version is, I think- but it does come with a lyrics insert doohickey, which is nice.

I've already said over on Anorak that each time I listen to this album I find my self thinking 'ooh, this is my favourite song on the album.' Then the next song starts and I think '..oh, no, this is my favourite song on the album!' This continues til I have to flip the record over. then it's repeated ad infinitum. It makes me feel extra guilty/stoopid for getting so trashed on the Friday of Popfest that I couldn't really take them in (though I do have vague recollections of possibly hug-ATTACKing one or more of them).

So do they actually sound like?

The interwebs will mention bands like Go Sailor, Cub, and '90's pop punk.' They're 2 guitars/bass/drums set up, several vocalists inc. some boy/girl stuff. At first I didn't really like the way the album was recorded (thought the vocals were too quiet), I'm not really sure how I came to that conclusion, cos within a day or so I had changed my mind.

They're a lovely, joyful (in an often sombre way) sort of shambolic indiepoppunk. It's exactly the sort of thing that we should all love. It's bouncy without being vacuous, it's sweet without being saccharine, it's fun without being funny, it's whimsical without being affected, and it's pop music, but it's far from twee.

They've got the album on CD and the 7" over at Pebble Records, for the album on vinyl I think you'll have to order it direct from Happy Happy Birthday To Me. What're you waiting for?

London Popfest 2011

Superfast, supercheap Virgin train to Euston, with free Wi-Fi... Wander to Camden and discover cheap veggie burger place is no more... Amble across the city (and The City) for a few hours (via V-Cross, St John's Gate)... Begin to realise my brand new £4.99 shoes are already totally fucked up... Walk up and down Cable Street but am unable to find the red plaque (cos it's on Dock Street)... Meet up with Clare Pop, then head over to meet other pop types in Shepherds Bush... Bush Hall has upsides (sounds, chandeliers, balcony) £3.80/can booze is one of the downsides... Tender Trap are my highlight for the evening... Friday is for Thai Food at The Miller, followed by 'Darkened Doorways' (lovely to share with others), then 'Strange Powers' (totally watchable, even as an unfan of Magnetic Fields)... Bored of the cold I buy a 1/2 price cardigan in H&M, Brixton... Comedy confusion in The Music Bar where Ben is told his chicken burger has become a beef burger as chickenburgers aren't served so the menu must have a 'spelling mistake'... It's payday for me and The Windmill has lots of beer and a merch desk... Town Bike & Sourpatch are top banana... Dancing til WAY past bedtime... Saturday is chinese buffet followed by Blue Posts, had to force the first couple of pints down battling with hangover... Enter The 100 Club to the opening notes of La Revolucion Sexual played by Twee Grrrls Club, hangover symptoms disappear... Wait for Humousexual... knackered guitar amp doesn't prevent a good number of terriblyexcited kids dancing, fists in the air to the likes of Oh Camberwell and Batty Street... Spend much of the day trying to avoid the eyes of people I went TOTALLY FANBOY over the night before, same with randoms I HUG-ATTACKED... Drink til it matters less... Go all FANBOY over Rob Price... Eux Autres nail their set... Think I may have accidentally sort of pulled a dude... Dance til late... Get called a 'cunt' by a Met Copper... Head across to The Lexinton for All Fringe No Knickers for more dancing to Sultans of Ping... Head east with a chatty taxi driver and a spare Swede... Early rise for Pop Quiz, Tony Wilson's Cock slaughter the competition... Head over to Bhel Poori House for dangerous amounts of curry... Find the following grafitti:'I bet the chef wanks in the curry, I would. Imagine all those uptight indie girls (not women, for sure) necking the whack.'... Enjoy the nervous dancing of Youngfuck's singer... Enjoy onstage banter of Girls Names' singer... Make a girl cry... Don't manage to say goodbye to everyone... Realise at Euston that my train ticket is for Monday... New ticket for train leaving 30 mins after I thought, arriving 90 mins after I'd thought... Birmingham City FC win the Carling Cup, my train makes this common knowledge... Popfest 2011 ends.